Contact:
Koshi Niitani
Hideaki Nishizawa
kniitani@umich.edu
nishhide@umich.edu
http://www.foejapan.org/en/
FOE JAPAN
Press Release

FOE Japan’s proposal for the summit
Standard Philosophy of FOE Japan:

-    Developed countries should take immediate steps to reduce the emission of GHC.
-    The strategy against the global warming must be designed in the manner which will not bring about the new social and economic disparity.
-    The carbon offset through the international carbon trading should be regulated because it is only the transfer of burden from developed countries to developing countries.
-    The fund needed in developing countries should not be raised from the revenue in the carbon market; rather, an international funding scheme based on contributions from developed countries or tax revenue sharing should be established.

Our Opinions for the Proposals:
Cap and Trade
(1)    Emission reduction targets for developed countries should be more intensive than for developing countries in the earlier stage.
(2)    Setting of the emission reduction targets and monitoring should be done by a third-party international body.
(3)    The third-party should be delegated the power of sanction for failing to report timely and correctly.
(4)    There must be some cap on the use of the CDM for developed countries to achieve their emission reduction targets.
(5)    For the purpose of the fund for developing countries, a trade fee should be along with the transaction of CEU permits in the cap-and-trade market.

Carbon tax
(1)    Part of the carbon tax revenue should be used to establish the international fund scheme for aiding developing countries.
(2)    Tax rate should be uniformly set rather than decided by each country. The tax rate applied in developing countries should be lower than in developed countries in the earlier stage, which should be gradually integrated into the uniform one.
(3)    The rule of distributing the fund should be managed by an UN-based subsidiary organization. An audit and report should also be conducted by the UN-based subsidiary organization.

Morning session included a Keynote Address by Dr. Harlan Watson, U.S. Ambassador and Special Envoy to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and Introductory Remarks by COP Chairman Jesse Worker and Ford School Dean Susan Collins.

U.S. President-Elect Barack Obama recently addressed a major climate change conference to emphasize its importance to his incoming Administration. The Obama-Biden Transition Team is sharing all incoming climate change recommendations from environmental groups, business associations and other organizations with the general public.